whole grain sorghum

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I adapted this salad from a quinoa recipe I found Quinoa salad. The apples and walnuts give this salad a nice, sweet crunch. I added turmeric to the sorghum while it cooked to give it a little extra flavor. I hope you enjoy this easy, nutritious dish!

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tsp turmeric

2 cups cooked whole grain sorghum

3 medium apples, pealed and diced

3 handfuls finely chopped kale

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey

Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1/8 cup)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Soak 1 cup of uncooked, whole grain sorghum in water for 2 hours. Rinse sorghum grains and cook in 2 cups of vegetable broth plus 1 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of turmeric, until liquid is absorbed and sorghum is tender – about 1 hour. Set aside to cool. This will yield about 3 1/2 cups of cooked sorghum. I only used 2 cups of it for this recipe, but feel free to use more if you like.

The turmeric gives the whole grain sorghum a lovely yellow color.

While the sorghum was cooking, I prepared the remaining ingredients.

Sauté chopped onion in olive oil with chopped kale until kale is wilted and onions are translucent.

Hodgson Mill has a nice traditional design on their box with all the pertinent information.

Hodgson Mill has less sugar and additives in their mix and more whole grains.

I added fresh Texas blueberries to make these pancakes extra healthy and just plain yummy.

Fresh Texas blueberries.

I used buttermilk and the batter came out very thick. I had to use a spoon to spread the batter out on the grill so they would be thin enough to cook completely inside. I think I would have liked them better if I had added a bit more milk to the thin out the batter.

The Hodgson Mill batter was a bit thick – I should have added a little more milk.

If the batter is thick, be sure to spread it out with a spoon on the griddle so the pancakes will not be to tall and cook well in the middle.

Finished stack of Hodgson Mill Gluten Free blueberry pancakes.

The other day I found this new gluten-free pancake mix I had never seen before – Kerbey Lane Cafe Gingerbread Pancake Mix.

Kerbey Lane Cafe has several locations in the Austin, TX area. I think they’re packaging has a fun design.

The package was really cute and when I turned it over to read the ingredients I was amazed to see sorghum flour was the first ingredient!

Sorghum flour is listed as the first ingredient.

They also had a fun slogan on the side:

Peace Through Pancakes – I’m all for that! Love those flying pancakes.

So, I HAD to try this, right?

Kerbey Lane Cafe is actually a small restaurant chain in Austin, TX that also produces packaged products for retail. I found this mix at Drug Emporium. You can buy them online, too. They have regular and gluten-free mixes. The gluten-free ones are manufactured in a dedicated facility, according to the package, so that made me feel safe trying the product.

The Kerbey Lane mix has everything in it, so all you have to add are eggs and water.

Kerbey Lane Gingerbread pancake batter.

The pancakes looked and smelled like soft gingerbread cookies while they were cooking.

The Kerbey Lane pancakes look like big fluffy gingerbread cookies when they are cooking.

And they tasted as good as they smelled!

Kerbey Lane Cafe gluten free gingerbread pancakes.

I added a small amount of butter and maple syrup, but these might also be good with fruit and whipped cream. The texture was just like I remember real pancakes being.

I would definitely recommend either one of these mixes to my celiac friends.

Remember: Peace Through Pancakes!

Milo says….

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What’s for breakfast?”

I soaked my sorghum for two hours before cooking, which made it a little softer and more sticky. I cooked the sorghum for about an hour until all of the broth was absorbed. I think I could have taken 10 minutes off of the cooking time and drained off the excess broth and the texture of the sorghum would have been a bit better.

The chicken broth gives the whole grain sorghum a nice flavor and the almonds give this pilaf a very pleasing crunch. Enjoy this pilaf as a meal by itself or as a side dish.

Instructions:

Rinse and drain sorghum grains. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan, add sorghum and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes, until tender. Drain off any excess broth and set pan aside.

I cooked the sorghum until it absorbed all of the chicken broth (about an hour) and it was a little bit mushy.

While the sorghum is cooking, chop the vegetables. Measure out two cups of frozen corn and let it sit out to thaw. I didn’t have slivered almonds so I chopped up some whole almonds in my food processor.

Chopped vegetables, almonds and frozen corn.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add corn and cook until toasted.

Sauté the corn in a skillet in olive oil until it starts to brown a little.

Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté until onions are translucent, 3 – 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to season to taste.

The rest of the vegetables are sautéed with the toasted corn.

Add chopped kale, cover and steam for 2 minutes.

I covered the skillet after adding the chopped kale to let it steam for a few minutes.

Add almonds, cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until nuts begin to toast.

I steamed the kale until it was wilted (about 3 minutes) and then added the almonds.

Here is another recipe using whole grain sorghum. The green chilies and red pepper flakes give it just a little bit of spicy kick that is absorbed by the whole grain sorghum. I got the idea for the recipe here, but I changed it up a bit.

The weather is getting warmer and it’s time to start thinking about good picnic salads. For this recipe, I took a traditional pea salad and added whole grain sorghum – and bacon, of course! I also added tomatoes to make it more colorful. This was so good I could have eaten it for the whole meal! I hope you enjoy it, too.

Cooking whole grain sorghum:

1 cup dry whole grain sorghum

1 cup water

1 cup vegetable broth

Soak whole grain sorghum in water for 3-4 hours. Drain and rinse.

I soaked the sorghum grains for about 4 hours so they would cook faster and be more tender.

Place soaked sorghum, water and vegetable broth in sauce pan.

I cooked the whole grain sorghum in vegetable stock to give it a richer flavor.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, until sorghum is tender and all liquid is absorbed.

Yields 4 cups of cooked sorghum.

Cooked sorghum ready to add to salad mixture.

Ingredients for salad:

2 cups cooked whole grain sorghum

1 10-oz package frozen sweet green peas

6 slices bacon, fried and crumbled into bits

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, cubed

2 cups grape tomatoes, each cut in half

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Soak and cook whole grain sorghum according to directions above. While sorghum is cooking, fry the bacon, cook peas and boil the eggs.

The frozen peas are cooked and set aside to cool.

Bacon and chopped up hard boiled eggs.

Set everything aside to cool and cut up vegetables and cheese.

Chopped onion and celery

I like sharp cheddar cheese, but you can use any cheese that you like.

Grape tomatoes sliced in half.

Chop up cooled eggs into bite-sized bits. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Cooked peas added to whole grain sorghum.

All ingredients combined, except mayonnaise.

This mayo has always been gluten-free and is great in pea salad.

Finished salad with mayonnaise added.

Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve cold. Makes 6-8 servings.

Here is a tasty dish using whole grain sorghum in place of rice for risotto. I added chicken breast pieces to this recipe to make it more like a casserole/all-in-one dish. I found that my cooking time for the sorghum was longer than the original recipe, possibly because I live at a higher altitude and things like rice and beans take longer to cook here.

I didn’t have any vanilla beans or paste, so I used vanilla extract. I’m sure it would be even better with real vanilla.

Butternut squash has a very tough skin and is difficult to peal and cut up, so be sure your knife is sharp and you are very careful. Here some good instructions if you have never done it.

Instructions:

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Brown chicken in olive oil until cooked through, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. I used a little onion powder, also. Set the cooked chicken aside in a covered dish to keep it warm.

Cook chicken breast pieces in olive oil until just done with a little salt and pepper.

In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise; scrape out seeds and add them, and the bean to broth. (or use vanilla paste.)

Chop butternut squash and onions.

Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low. Add squash, cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove squash to a side dish. Turn heat on broth to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or skillet, melt 2 T of butter over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the sorghum; stir to coat with butter. Add wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.

Wine and sorghum added to sautéed onions.

Add 1 1/2 cup of broth that was used to cook squash, cover and cook until almost completely absorbed, about 15 minutes. Continue cooking, adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring constantly, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more, until sorghum is tender, but still firm to the bite, and creamy, about 20 minutes. (It took mine about 30 minutes to completely absorb liquid and get tender.)

Whole grain sorghum is an especially versatile ingredient in gluten-free cooking. It can be used in place of couscous, bulgur or pearled barley. Nutritionally, sorghum contains more protein than typical wheat substitutes such as rice. It is rich in antioxidants, which makes it a safe, delicious, and healthy choice for a gluten-free diet. You can find more information about sorghum and additional recipes in this Sorghum Handbook.

I purchased this whole grain sorghum online from Nu Life Market. The instructions for cooking the sorghum in this recipe are a little different from my previous recipes, but worked really well. Toasting the grains in olive oil before cooking gives the sorghum a nutty flavor I really like and complements the garlic and onions.

Nu Life Pearled Sorghum has Nu packaging!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked sorghum grain

2 1/2 Tbls olive oil

3 to 4 cups chicken broth

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1/2 cup celery, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 green onions, sliced (I used 1/2 cup chopped white onion)

1/3 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, toasted (I used almonds)

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt to taste

Dash freshly cracked pepper

Chopped carrots, celery and onions.

Instructions:

Rinse sorghum kernels and drain thoroughly. In a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine sorghum and 1 Tbls olive oil. Stirring constantly, gently toast sorghum in oil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until broth is absorbed and grain is tender. Drain excess liquid, if necessary and set aside.

Sorghum cooked in the pan.

In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 Tbls olive oil over med-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until tender crisp.

Sauté carrots, celery and onions in olive oil.

Add onions, nuts and tomatoes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until nuts begin to toast.

Add tomatoes and slivered almonds.

Add cooked sorghum and heat through. Season to taste. Transfer to casserole dish or large platter.

Whole grain sorghum added to the vegetables and cooked until heated through.

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Hi! I’m Maizy

I have celiac disease and I MUST eat a gluten-free diet. I’m learning to cook with sorghum by trying one recipe a week for 52 weeks. Milo is my dog and he will be sharing his wisdom, as well. Learn more about us and our blog here.